Starry Night Festival
by LittleMana
Summary: Apparently Keira wants her husband, Jack, to come home early tomorrow…


_**Starry Night Festival**_

_Apparently Keira wants her husband, Jack, to come home early tomorrow…_

Jack exhaled heavily, dragging his dusty sleeve over his sweaty brow. He flexed his aching fingers and shook out his stinging knees. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he craned his neck to gaze at the starry, expansive sky.

_Too bad Harvest Sprites don't work on holidays_, he lamented sadly. He turned his eyes to his warm, glowing house as he listened to the snow crunching beneath his feet. _I need a shower…_he thought briefly as he twisted the doorknob.

A bright blast of heated air enveloped him. He squinted, and barely made out the fuzzy shapes of his son, Kyoshi, who was bouncing up and down on his chair excitedly and his wife, Keira, who was beaming.

"Starry Night Festival!" Kyoshi burst out energetically. "C'mon, Dad! Let's eat, eat, eat!" He gestured wildly to the spread of sweet cakes and orange drinks.

"Hey, hold on there kiddo," Jack protested. "I need to take a shower. I'm all stinky and smelly."

Kyoshi's face fell. "But _Daddy_…" he whined. "I'm hungry!"

"Yes, but I'll get dirt —" Jack suddenly caught his wife's swift, disappointed (and slightly disapproving) look. "A little bit of cake won't hurt," he corrected himself hastily.

Kyoshi hungrily dug in, and Keira, who daintily nibbled her slice of cake, watched him go with concern. Jack took a few moderate-sized bites of his dinner before excusing himself to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he was clean, dry, and in a set of recently washed clothes.

"You're done, Kyoshi?" he said incredulously, spotting the empty plate. His son grinned proudly, exposing his icing covered teeth and orange tongue. He hopped off his chair, put on a DVD, and parked himself in front of the television. Keira was still eating, so Jack sat by her and continued their meal. She automatically took out her pad and writing instrument.

Jack began with his traditional "How was your day today?" and "How is Kyoshi?". He was not surprised to find the answer written on the pad already. First off, her day was hectic, because she never made a cake before (she looked in the recipe book). The fact that she had ever experienced a Starry Night Festival did not help matters, either. (They did not celebrate the festival last year because Keira was feeling too sick with Kyoshi at the time.)

Secondly, Kyoshi was a big help when it came to mixing the fruit drinks. Apparently, Flora taught him a thing or two about cooking while he was chasing butterflies near the excavation site. Keira went on to mention how proud she was of their bright little son.

They exchanged more small talk until the cakes dawdled down into a few measly crumbs, and all that remained of the beverages was watery dregs. The two cleared the dishes and tidied up.

"Mommy, can I go outside and look at the stars?" asked Kyoshi. The television was dark. She glanced at him, then turned to her pad.

"Don't go too far," she wrote.

Kyoshi shook his head. He leapt to his feet, scampered outside, gazed in wonder beneath the mystic spread of the universe. Keira scribbled something.

"Let's go to the spring," the pad read. Jack looked up at his wife, whose dark eyes shone hopefully. He nodded.

Except for the hum of lonely crickets, the whisper of wind through the bare arms of the trees, the murmur of minute waves lapping against the surf, and the sound of hushed, misty breathing between a husband and his wife, the spring was silent. The two gazed at the pond for duo reasons: to watch its serene ripples and to view the night sky in its reflection. Jack watched the mirror image of his wife turn to face his shimmering counterpart.

Then he felt Keira's soft clothing press against him, and her hair tickled his neck as she pushed her cheek into his shoulder. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and she burbled something incomprehensibly. Jack's arms moved around her back, and the two began to hold each other.

_She looks completely satisfied…_

They rocked together, back and forth, back and forth. She smelled sweet, like lilacs, while he harbored a faint tint of soap. He was cold; she was warm. Then, they were warm together.

They gazed into each other, Keira falling in his chocolate eyes, Jack in her ebony. Then, simultaneously, the couple pointed their flushed faces towards the starry night sky and lost themselves in the heavens.


End file.
